I’m delighted to be the first stop on the blog tour today for ‘Bambi’ on Audrey. Yes, ‘Bambi’, written by Felix Salten, newly translated and introduced by Jack Zipes to celebrate 100 years since the original publication, and read by John Chancer. You may be familiar with the Disney film, but Salten’s original novel was […]
You don’t remember her but she remembers you. Intriguing, yes? According to the Daily Telegraph, this is ‘[an] exquisitely sinister psychological thriller’, but, for me, it barely felt like a thriller. Short version: one woman deliberately insinuates herself into another woman’s life in what feels like preparation for some kind of revenge and just as […]
‘Not long ago by old green trees, The spring brought sun and bumble bees.’ This collection of simple, rhyming poems about Roglins – fictional creatures who live in the woods – is supported by clear, black and white pictures that show the creatures at play and at rest. There’s a sense of progression as you […]
‘Children strain our everyday lives…but also deepen them.’ This quotation, as much as the full title of the book, perfectly encapsulates the content of ‘All Joy and No Fun: the Paradox of Modern Parenthood’. I started reading the opening pages and was immediately hooked (I love reading about research in an accessible way); I took […]
‘We were destroying the planet all along, weren’t we?’ The potential destruction of Earth as a result of climate change is a key theme of this interesting novel, delivered rather bluntly through characters like Madge and the Narrator, but also through reference to earlier historical events. However, the real philosophical crux of the novel is […]
‘People saw me differently in comedy; I found they misinterpreted my shyness as coldness and my almost constant overwhelming anxiety as anger.’ Fern Brady, comedian and Taskmaster alumni, struggled with her mental health for years before accepting that she was autistic and might need people around her – including herself – to make certain adjustments […]
‘Jukes cried out in agony before toppling onto the ground like a skittle struck by a bowling ball.’ Murder. Kidnap. Mayhem. And that’s just the opening few pages. Tony Bassett is back with the sixth book in his DCI Roscoe and DS Roy series, although this time it’s not just the criminal gang causing mayhem: […]
Think ‘Scream’ but for a YA audience and with added ghosts. Charley’s whole identity is “horror movie enthusiast”, so when someone starts murdering her classmates in brutal ways, she knows The Rules and feels well placed to survive the carnage. But when she starts seeing the ghosts of her former classmates, can they help her […]
I loved this book and look forward to Doyle’s next case. Oh, you want more information than that? Ok. If you like police procedurals, you should definitely read this. More information than that? Well, if you insist… What’s it about? When a woman’s broken body is found at the bottom of a cliff, it’s up […]
‘I took the job in a panic as my life hit the buffers and the money ran out.’ This might not sound like an auspicious beginning, but as ‘The Volunteers’ beautifully records, Carol’s decision to take on a new role within wildlife conservation, and specifically the group of volunteers she learns to manage as a […]